Impact Hub Brixton moves to Pop Brixton

Written by Future Brixton team

October 12, 2015

On Monday October 5 Impact Hub Brixton moved from Lambeth Town Hall into their new home at Pop Brixton. Their new home has been made possible by the Mayor of London’s High Street Fund, plus investment from Lambeth Council and Pop Brixton.

As part of the funding from the High Street Fund the Impact Hub have agreed 15 new jobs will be created by their members, 50 existing members to move to the new Pop Brixton site, secure the roles for the 4 existing employees (part-time), to bring 50 new members to the new site and to assist 80 SME’s.

Rebecca Trevalyan,Community Activator at the Hub, told us what the move means to her and all the Hubbers in Brixton.

With the Town Hall refurbishment underway, the move has given the Hub space to reflect on how we can create more positive impact in Lambeth.

We’ve already set the wheels in motion by expanding our team. A bigger Hub team means we are able to deliver more events and opportunities, and invite even more people to take part in conversations and action for a better Lambeth.

Powered by a creative workspace, peer-to-peer learning system and a range of community events, Impact Hub Brixton is home to meaningful conversations. This community spirit and sense of purpose has led to 72% of members reporting that, since joining, they are happier, more confident and have a stronger sense of self-worth.

We believe that affordable, flexible space is a great starting point for a more inclusive Lambeth. To make the most of this, we will be opening our doors from November for:

+ a series of monthly dinners on the first Thursday of each month

+ open project nights on every Thursday except that first Thursday, where anyone interested in building a better Lambeth can come to use the Hub space for meetings, working, connecting or sharing ideas

+ a time and skill exchange system, where people can trade all sorts of skills via a central ‘bank’ – think illustration, accountancy, photography, Portuguese, gardening…

This course teaches tools and techniques to help us think, listen, work together and create projects in a radically collaborative way.

This means we can start tackling issues across sectors – imagine if corporates and start-ups and local authorities and students and academics worked on solutions for the housing crisis for example. Imagine how much more far-reaching and impactful the solutions might be.

We want to apply this methodology to our local context here in Lambeth to see what might be possible.

And we’re not the only ones exploring how we can create positive impact. Here’s what some of our members are doing:

School Ground Sounds – run by ex-maths teacher Tom, this music charity connects pupils with opportunities to perform and promote their musical talent

Rastafari Movement UK CIC – run by a committee of local people, this campaign and action group is working to provide young people in Brixton with an alternative to life in gangs

In the next couple of months we will also be building up our external partnerships to provide opportunities to local people, both young and old. One such partner that we are looking forward to collaborating with again is Lambeth College. Last year their media department connected with social entrepreneurs in need of video. You can watch the results here and here.

Pop Brixton is the result of an exciting collaboration between Lambeth Council, Carl Turner Architects and The Collective. The council provided the land at no cost, on the condition that the project delivers benefits to the community. This included the agreement that 10 units would be made available at reduced rent for local start-ups and organisations that have a positive social impact.